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Weight Training Exercises
Weight Training ExercisesBe sure that you're adequately warmed up before undertaking weight-training exercises. Either do the entire warm up sets at the start of the weight training, or do the warm up sets for each exercise followed by the top sets for that same exercise. The lower the reps (and higher the poundage) you're using for your top effort sets, the more attention you need to give to specific warm up work. For example, suppose you're doing very heavy weight-training exercises consisting of low rep squats for a few weeks, in preparation for a maximum single. Your warm up work could run like this: 135x8, 235x5, and 285x3 as a prelude to 335x5.Suppose you're doing 20 rep squats with as heavy a poundage as possible, say 250 at present. During weight training exercises, your warm up work wouldn't be so extensive, say just 135x8 and 200x5. Generally, the squat, dead lift and bench press during weight training exercises need the most care when warming up. The other exercises are adequately provided for with one or at most two progressive warm up sets. During weight-training exercises avoid warming up so much - too many sets and too many reps that you tire yourself out. If in doubt, do the extra set of warm up work, but keep the reps low, as low as just one perfectly done rep. If you're a novice, you'll need the guidance of an instructor. Or, if you are doing weight training at home, you'll need to obtain a book that gives a lot of attention to exercise performance. Pictures and photographs will help you to get the technique correct for weight training exercises. Heightening the intensity Techniques for weight training exercises, such as forced reps, negative, drop/breakdown sets, rest pause work, 11/2 reps, 11/2 rest pause reps, and other methods, take intensity of effort beyond the regular to-failure level. Training to failure either means performing reps until another rep can't be performed under your own steam or, in the old (pure) school of training to failure, you keep training until you can't budge the bar. Training isn't done like this during the initial stages of a cycle, but only when you're training full-bore. Weight-training exercises beyond regular failure can be very result producing only if it's used prudently. Don't pile on this degree of intensity every workout, or even more than once every week for a given exercise, or else you'll over train for sure. Be especially watchful that you don't use these techniques to try to fix sets that haven't been done properly. You can't make a poor set into a good one by adding a few pseudo forced reps or negatives. For weight training exercises get the basic to regular failure sets perfect first. |